Don't Even Blink
by Floating On A Thought
Summary: ... Not for an instant. Part of my 'Inspired By:' series. Inspired By: Hiraishin by kunoichi-san on Deviantart. The Yellow Flash goes to war, and he frightens even the most battle-hardened shinobi. Including himself.


**Warnings: Violence**

Minato put up a hand silently and jerked it abruptly to the side – a signal to the others behind him to stop. He leant to the side slightly, and his eyes honed in on the small flicker of light he spied behind the large boulder. The trees hid the Konoha shinobi from their adversaries who were currently camped out not half a mile from them. The entire team had clamped down on their chakra signatures miles away, and had relied on sheer physical fitness to get themselves this close to the targets. This mission… it simply could not fail.

The targets were a contingent sent by the Tsuchikage to eliminate many of the towns Konoha had laid claims on – towns that were part of the vital food chain that kept their shinobi fed. Without it, the entire war effort on Konoha's part would go down in tatters, as most of the shinobi would be forced to retreat, as they could not live and fight without sustenance. The Hokage was certain the Tsuchikage knew this, and was taking immediate steps to utilize the opportunity that had arisen.

Taking pre-emptive could be very risky, especially if the intended victims were not where they were supposed to be, or if the leader had made a bad guess and sent out shinobi for no reason. But in most cases it stopped catastrophic happenings from taking place, like in this situation. The entire war and steps towards Konoha's victory lay with the success of this mission.

That was why the ruling Hokage – Hiruzen Sarutobi – and his teammates – Koharu Utatane and Homura Mikokado – had sent out their best to combat many of Iwa's best. The Tsuchikage Onoki had sent out a _lot _of his successful shinobi and kunoichi; a good example of this was sending out Gari, the leader of the Bakuha Butai, as well as Otenki – a shinobi who specialises in genjutsu and mind games.

Minato could see the both of them from here standing on guard, and recognised them from the BINGO book. Both were listed as A-Rank shinobi, and were not to be trifled with. The blond had no doubt that there were more familiar but unwelcome faces within that camp. Powerful ones.

He glanced back over his shoulder, and saw quite a few of the shinobi who he was leading fingering the tri-pronged kunai he had given them, seeming confused. He supposed it was understandable, after all, he hadn't given them any explanation other than rush as close to the camp as they could, before throwing the kunai randomly – preferable as close to an enemy as possible, no matter if they hit them – into the throng. He hadn't told them exactly what the point of it was, and he could see the puzzlement on their faces. Perhaps he would tell them after the danger was gone, albeit, temporarily.

He coughed very quietly to gather the attention of the ten people behind him, and was pleased when their heads snapped up. He began to run through a small set of instructions in hand signals.

_Throw kunai like I said. Once completed, jump up upon rock. Stay there to await further instruction. Only engage if attacked._

Some of them made to protest, but one of the older ones elbowed them in the ribs harshly to stem their argument. Then, the knowledge dawned on Minato. That man had served with him before in a skirmish two months ago. It had been when a large force of enemy shinobi had marched across Kannabi Bridge, and Minato had been sent out under the leadership of Sakumo Hatake to halt the enemy's progress and take them out. They had succeeded, and that mission had been the first time Minato had used the Hiraishin. No wonder the man did not protest; he knew exactly what those abnormal kunai did.

But the Namikaze would not deny he was slightly nervous. This was the first time he had led a team directly against the enemy, and it was the fourth time he would use the technique in quick succession. True, he had practiced and trained with it whenever he could – which, although not often, he had made sure to use the time wisely – and he knew he could do it, but he hadn't been killing shinobi constantly during those trials. It would be a… change. But he couldn't back out now. His village needed him, and his mission needed to be completed; it was as simple as that.

He turned around again, and noticed with slight alarm that the guards were gone. That wasn't good. Had they noticed them?

It was unlikely, considering how well concealed they were, but he could take no chances. They had to act now. He held up his hand made a sign that told them to follow him, and then took off out of the trees, halting once they were out in the open. He barely heard the group behind him land, even in the unnatural silence that had descended upon the landscape. He was right. They should have been able to hear the camp from here – it did hold thirty shinobi and kunoichi, after all. But there was nothing.

He looked back quickly at his followers, and mentally calculated where each of them should be.

Perhaps it would be sensible if three went around each side of the boulder, then the remaining four and he could stand on top of it and they could through the kunai into the fray. That seemed like a good idea. It was rather good in the current location – the camp was enclosed within a sort of natural basin, with a thirty foot wall of rock surrounding it with trees on top. It was an excellent place for hiding, that is, if the enemy couldn't find you. But Minato was one of the best, and no matter how well they hid themselves, with some effort he was sure to find them.

He made the required hand signals, and when they nodded affirmative, he dashed forward, even his normal speed far surpassing his subordinates'. He reached the boulder, and focussing chakra to his feet, ran up the vertical surface. He landed on top, and paused. Two seconds later, his team was in position, and he gazed down at his soon-to-be victims with ice cold eyes. There were around fifty of them; some were well known, while others were simply ordinary jounins. All in all, it was a rather powerful group of shinobi.

They were partially prepared, some had swords drawn and hands at the ready to seal, while others were fumbling about, trying to be ready for the onslaught. A few moments later, and they were all staring grimly at their opponents, knowing full well that only one side would come out victorious. The other side would be obliterated.

Fujo, a sensor shinobi, stood behind his leader Gari, concentrating on the signatures of the enemies in front of them. He was confused, however. Ten? There were only ten? Was Konoha full of idiots? Did they underestimate the might of Iwa?

He voiced his concerns to Gari, who stood with his hands in a seal, explosive chakra gathering at his fist. The man waved off his comments, stating in a low voice that they obviously didn't have full knowledge of their enemies to properly prepare for them.

But Fujo wasn't so sure. As his comrades readied themselves for battle, he scanned over all the Konoha shinobi who stood there, analyzing each one. The six on the ground had the capacities of chuunin level, and the five on the rock… three of them had the same while two had jounin level, one higher than the other. He presumed the blond on top of the boulder glaring at them was the commander, and the others were just-

Wait. Blond?

He locked his eyes back on the man. He looked to be around nineteen, wearing an ordinary Konoha jounin uniform. Fujo knew that description should register in his mind, but…

A glint in the dusk caught his attention, and he looked at the kunai one of the chuunin on the rock was holding. It was oddly shaped, with three blades and piece of paper hanging from the end. It resembled the trident held by the sea god in legends told to children. His mind blasted out an alarm to him, and he connected the dots when all of the present Konoha shinobi took out at least three of the same kunai and made to throw them. Oh god… the one man with a 'flee on sight order issued by the Tsuchikage himself… was standing right in front of them.

"It's Konoha's Yellow Flash!" Fujo nearly screamed out, and many of Iwa's shinobi flinched, and made to retreat. But it was too late.

Minato swiped his hand through the air, and the kunai flew. Over sixty hit the ground, and he felt the familiarly welcome tug in his chakra network, before the world was reduced to blurs.

Flash. The custom kunai he held went straight into a kunoichi's neck.

Flash. He slammed his hand on the back of the neck of the shinobi in front of him, and brushed off the sinister crack he received.

Flash. The kunai sliced through the neck of a blond shinobi, who glared mutinously at his fellow blond in the last milliseconds of his life.

Flash. He was holding his kunai like a sword, and plunged it deep into another shinobi's neck, ignoring the blood spatter he was unable to avoid.

Flash. He gripped the neck of a kunoichi and jerked it violently, getting another eerie crack that sent shivers up his spine.

Flash. He grabbed the kunai he flashed to that was still flying through the air and forced it into the chest of the shinobi in front of him. It stabbed the heart, and he yanked it out.

Flash. He held out his arm and the triple blades of his knife passed through another neck, this time much more violently. The victim's head came off, and he was gone before it reached the peak of its flight.

Flash. There were now two kunai in his hands, and he stabbed them both into another chest, piercing both lungs.

Flash. He brought the kunai in his left hand down on the head of the unfortunate man kneeling in front of him. He ignored the gurgle.

Flash. Flash. Flash. Flash.

Akio watched with morbid fascination and horror as the Iwa ninja dropped like flies in brutal ways. Good god… this wasn't natural. Fifty powerful shinobi should not be reduced to this, no matter if they were enemies. He felt _sorry _for them, of all things. Yet, he didn't regret helping to end their lives. They were his enemies, and could have caused so many more deaths if left to their job. He still felt sickened, however, watching a man who wasn't even twenty wipe out an entire unit of elite shinobi with the same amount of chakra it took to use the body flicker.

Akio was never so glad to be on Konoha's side as he was now.

Minato slid his kunai through the last living Iwa kunoichi, and glanced around the field. They were all dead. The grass had turned red, and the camp fire shone off the crimson liquid, giving the battlefield a supernatural feel.

He swallowed the bile in his throat and held the dozens hooked on his fingers out, and made a hand sign. They vanished in a puff of smoke, and the scroll in his vest pulsed. There. He would have to clean them when he got home.

He took a deep breath through his mouth, and put on his blank face. Along with being the first mission he was on as the commander, it was also the first mission that Kushina wasn't there to comfort him afterwards. He couldn't break down on her shoulder like he had the first couple of times he had massacred the Iwa shinobi. She wasn't here.

The thought was uncomfortable. He needed her, but it would take at least four days to get back to Konoha. Four days of holding it in.

The redheaded woman might be the strongest person he knew, but even she understood when he came home from these missions. He needed to let go. Let go of the knowledge that with today, his photographic memory alerted him to the fact he had killed three hundred and thirty three people. Three hundred and thirty three people who had a mother, a father, a spouse, children…

He gagged, but hid it quickly so the others didn't see.

He wanted to be sick. He was a monster.

**Hmmm… as always, the link is on my profile.**

**I just wanted to try this, as I always wondered what Minato must have thought after all those missions where he slaughtered the Iwa nins. There was no way he was cool and collected. Eventually, his kill count must have gotten to him. So there it is.**

**Hope you like. Review please.**


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